Yesterday I got an e-mail from my hotel in Bari, asking me to pay the bill for four nights upfront, prior to arrival.' (Hotel Bra)

In Valencia, last December, my hotel asked for full payment upon arrival. (Only You)

Munich, last September, same thing--pay entire bill on arrival; pay for extras on checkout. (Vier Jahretzeiten)

My hotel near Vejer asks me for half the balance of a three-week stay upon booking.

Is this a new, prevalent thing? Before last year, I always paid upon checkout.

Not only that, a hotel In Puglia (Baglioni Masseria Mussa, near Otranto) charged me in full for one of the nights of our stay, although I cancelled four days in advance; they said their limit was a 5-day-in-advance cancellation. We cancelled the one for medical reasons. That one I am very annoyed about......

Anyone else encountering that? I book directly with the properties not with Booking.com.

I am not seeing that although I book usually through Booking or Marriott when it comes to hotels. Airbnb or VRBO a different story

I stayed in 8 different hotels this summer and none of them did that. Booked directly with hotel except for one with Mr&Mrs Smith. I did pay in advance for most of them because they offered a discount if you did so, but none required you to pay in advance if just going for the regular rate.

Hi Scruncita,
It would not surprise me if this were the new normal.
Like you, we book directly with hotel. We do opt for the pay upon arrival choice which typically allows cancellation in a short window ( line 48 or 72 hours).
Are you booking on hotel website or on phone?

Some is country specific.

In my experience Spanish hotels have always had pay on arrival not on departure. Same thing in Germany. OTOH in Italy it tends to be on departure.

Prepay usually comes with a discount.

Cancelation terms have always varied.

Changing the rules post booking is wrong. But if it's the rules when you book that's the rules.

My experience is similar to rainycitygirl's--I am often presented with the choice to prepay and the room cost is lower. I tend not to, just in case my plans change. However, this summer I did stay at some tiny B&B-type places in where I had to prepay, but these were in small towns, not regular hotels in cities like Bari.

Have a wonderful trip!

[I believe I prepaid for a one-night stay at this traditional inn in Scanno, which was lovely if you ever get back that way, eks!

I've encountered this more in Paris in last couple of years, yes, at least in peak periods. I won't do it so have to look around more. I've never encountered it in Spain, even recently in Barcelona.

If we prepay in Oahu we got a good discount so we do

In August this year,
Booking .com offered a much better rate for my hotel in London if I paid several days before arrival.
( it was still refundable 24 hours prior ).
The rate quoted by the hotel was over two hundred pound higher for seven nights stay.

I tend to find using booking.com but book direct and pay on arrival or when the host gets around to it.

I book using booking.com only if time is tight (say booking at breakfast for that night), or if I might cancel and then monitor the cancellation dates carefully

I generally pay £110 for a couple per night (say $145) so not a biggy if I have to eat the price

I booked via e-mail. Looked at hotel website and then wrote to them and booked.
I'm afraid to do those pay-in-advance deals because what if we have to cancel if someone gets sick (not something I would have thought about 20 years ago!!)

Leely, I'd love to go back to Scanno!!!! That place looks just fine. We only went on a day trip, from Sulmona.

Here is the e-mail I got from the hotel in Bari:


<<<<Buon pomeriggio from Bra Hotel and Bari!We’re delighted that your arrival is just a few days away, and we truly look forward to welcoming you to our little corner of paradise.
Our team is preparing everything to ensure your stay is not only comfortable, but also a memorable and enjoyable experience.

As per our booking policy, we kindly remind you that the balance of your stay is due three days prior to arrival.

Please find below the secure payment link for your reservationamp;amp;gt;>>

I was pretty put out by this but I had to pay.

For our inn outside Ceglie--Masseria Camarda--they asked me to send a bank transfer when I booked. But I told them I could not do that, and after a couple of e-mails, they said it did not matter, we could pay on arrival..

https://www.masseriacamarda.it/eng/index.php


I think this is going to become a trend--the pre-payment even if you book the more expensive, regular rate.

The place I go to near Vejer takes half the total on booking, as I mentioned. But I guess I get that because they only have about 6 rooms..and I booked this year for almost three weeks (March).
I remember when my parents got up into their 70s. they had traveled a lot compared to many others in the 1970s and 1980s---I had no friends whose parents took trips to Mali, or Senegal, or went to Alberobello in the 1970s!!! Making reservations at hotels by postal mail, etc.

But when my dad began complaining about how difficult traveling was "nowadays" with the airport hassles, etc....they took a couple of Road Scholar trips, and then just gave up on travel in their mid- or late-70s. I can already see how my partner is changing...he still wants to go (and he is going to Puglia during baseball playoff season!) but it's more difficult for him as he needs a wheelchair for the airport and can't walk too far anywhere. So I will probably go out alone and wander around in Bari. He's very cheery about staying around the hotel for a few hours, so it's ok..... I'd rather him do that then have to find a bench for him to sit on every two blocks and him being all grouchy about how much his back hurts. (Mine hurts, too, but I am ok with taking Tylenol/Advil, while he "does not want to become addicted." Go figure!!




Rainycity, Wasn't it you who told me about PALAZZO TAFURI in Nardo?? We have four nights there; no payment asked for before arrival.

Yes that was me! Let me know how it was when the trip is over.

I think one reason hotels are opting for full payment is that some people book multiple hotels and then cancel all but one at the last moment leaving the hotels struggling to fill the room. Same as many restaurants now want a hefty deposit when you book.

We don't tend to stay in hotels often but at the last one we had to pay in full in advance, with a reducing percentage refund if we'd had to cancel.

I think you are correct about people making multiple bookings at hotels and restaurants!!

Not a hotel, but I encountered “pay in full” when reserving a rental car at Denver’s Pena Airport last month. I was shocked! This seems to be a new thing & was the case on more than one site. Another surprise was the class vehicle I booked wasn’t available when we arrived. We were offered an electric or a full size vehicle, neither of which we wanted. The offer was presented as a good deal, but it definitely wasn’t for us. We took a larger vehicle.

…and they made you pay for the unintentional upgrade???????

Yes, you read of it on this forum as well. Although I frequently have analysis paralysis about hotels and restaurants, I'm far too disorganized to manage multiple bookings. I'd be getting hit with no-show fees right and left.

By the way, I saw your question on another forum, and I remember reading--after I had dined at Cibus--of another restaurant I really wanted to try in Ceglie Messapica, but for the life of me I can't remember where I read about the place. Gambero Rosso, Luciano Pignataro's wine blog, Michelin, who knows.

Buon viaggio e buon appetito.

I like to know where I will be staying and have it paid in full in advance. This isn't for Europe (oops wrong forum) but for other trips for favorite places for Mexico.

Asking for a bank transfer is different. That's smaller or seasonal places. Often people who don't want to pay the merchant fee with credit cards.

Having to pay a few days or a week before arrival I wouldn't personally call prepayment. That's just a form of no show fee.

I get really cranky with people who hold more than one booking- it’s just rude, to the hoteliers and to other travellers.